City of Rochester News Release -- Bloomberg Philanthropies Recognizes Rochester’s Use of Data to Guide Decisions, Improve Services
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Mayor James Patrick Smith announced today that Bloomberg Philanthropies has awarded the City of Rochester the Silver-level What Works Cities Certification in recognition of the City's use of data to guide decision making and improve services.

"Rochester is honored to be included among the first 50 cities in the country to be recognized by Bloomberg Philanthropies for our investment in data and transparency," said Mayor Smith. "Making data and evidence-based practices a priority across Departments helps us understand the diverse experiences of city residents and improve the services that help them live their best lives. I want to thank and commend Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his vision and leadership to improve lives through the better use of data and evidence in America's cities."

"The most effective mayors use data to define problems and craft bold new solutions, and this milestone of 50 certified cities highlights the critical progress local governments are leading across the country," said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies and 108th mayor of New York City. "By building a culture of data-driven decision-making, these cities will be more resilient and better equipped to fight climate change, protect public health, increase economic mobility, and much more."

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The What Works Cities Certification - the national standard of excellence in data-driven city governance - measures the extent to which city leaders incorporate data and evidence in their decision-making to more effectively tackle their most pressing challenges. The Certification assesses cities' data-driven decision-making practices, such as whether they are using data to set goals and track progress, allocate funding, evaluate the effectiveness of programs and achieve desired outcomes from outside vendors. The program also measures whether cities are publicly and transparently communicating their use of data and evidence.

In recent years, Rochester has demonstrated measurable progress on these foundational data practices. Some notable examples of the City's use of data include:
  • To most effectively provide meals to families during the COVID-19 pandemic, meal distribution sites were selected based on an examination of student addresses to ensure each site was within a reasonable walking distance of the majority of student homes. More than 2.6 million meals were served to Rochester families.
  • Data on lead poisoning outcomes were used to identify and prioritize high-risk areas and provide federal lead-remediation grants to landlords in these areas, contributing to an 80 percent drop in high blood-lead levels in children.
  • Data from the 2018 communitywide Housing Market Study were used to draft the Rochester 2034 comprehensive plan and collaborate with community stakeholders and developers to expand affordable housing opportunities across the city.

Rochester is one of 26 U.S. cities to achieve What Works Cities Certification in 2021, bringing the total number to 50.

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News Media: For more information, contact Communications Director Justin Roj at Justin.Roj@cityofrochester.gov.

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